This book was another one I went in blind on, and this time it turned out to be a good thing. Now I know the theme of the book (at least on the surface) but it was fun to discover that on my own. And that made it easier to delve a little deeper and discover some other themes.
The book follows the narrator who is a (overly) snarky design student that turns their life over to social media in an attempt to capitalize on their brush with a very, very rare event. There is a lot of social media featured in this book, and since I am a person that is not a big fan of the media as a whole, sometimes it was a little tedious to get through all the critical considerations that influencers go through when posting.
But the themes underneath the story is where I found more interest. There are thoughts on fame, cultism and power in here, and I think these nicely fit in with society today – social and political issues being at the forefront in some countries.
I also got the same sort of vibes I got when I read Ready Player One. That book (and perhaps this one) was pretty divisive for various reasons but both books feature puzzles, a hunt for clues, and a worldwide competition to find the needle in the haystack. I think maybe I detected a callback to Ready Player One in this book – a dream sequence in an arcade that had a quarter on the machine.
So while I wasn’t a big fan of the main character I enjoyed the book, and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel.
But next I am reading The World Walk by Tom Turcich.
